In September I visited Canada’s commercial capital city: Toronto. The city is much more interesting than one might expect. With a huge international population (50% of the city isn’t even from Canada), the city feels like it’s just full of throbbing life. There were three stand-out highlights during my weekend in Toronto: the nightlife, the food, and the Queen Street West neighborhood.
Toronto Nightlife: trendy, gay-friendly & fun!
The city serves up plenty of options for a night out. Trendy cocktail bars and posh nightclubs are scattered across Toronto. The city’s Gayborhood is centered around the Church & Wellesly streets. As one of Canada’s most happening cities for gay nightlife, there are things to do every night. I visited one of the popular martini bars (and gay clubs) on Church Street late on a Friday night. It was crowded and full for a cool September evening with a mediocre DJ playing top 40.
My Saturday night in Toronto included a visit to the Black Hoof oyster & cocktail bar which serves arguably the city’s best cocktails. For late night snacks (and more alcohol) I visited the 416 Snack Bar on trendy Ossington Street. The bar was crowded with scruffy hipsters and obviously popular for a younger, twenty-something crowd. King Street in downtown Toronto is also popular for bar crawls and some clubs, but they often cater to an older crowd and visiting tourists.
Queen Street West
If you want to avoid the touristic King Street, pay a visit to Queen Street West instead. The street is home to art galleries, cafes, bakeries and restaurants—all popular with the locals. On one end of Queen Street West is the Trinity Bellwoods Park—a popular summertime spot for festivals, picnics and, increasingly, food trucks.. Keeping with the area’s traditionally bohemian atmosphere, Toronto’s Graffiti Alley (a side street near Queen Street West) is the city’s only public space where graffiti is legal.
Eating
Toronto is as much a nightlife destination as it is a destination for foodies. With more and more celebrity chefs, the culinary scene in Toronto is growing fast. Keep an eye out for food trucks at street festivals, or read the local blogs to find out about pop-up restaurants. During my visit, I ate at the locally owned Cheesewerks—a “grilled cheese” restaurant. Each sandwich could also be created as a mac & cheese dish or it was possible to order other cheese-related foods—all made from 100% Canadian products!
You can find just about every cuisine in Toronto. From trendy foods like cupcakes (try the red velvet one at Dlish Cupcakes) to Mexican and Chinese foods. The city has no less than three separate but distinct Chinatowns. The main one, near Kensington market is nearby several other hubs for other ethnic cuisines. Keep an eye out for empanadas and churros when shopping for vintage clothes.
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Visit blogto.com or the official tourism website for current listings or events happening in Toronto. For more of my personal travel tips, check out my Ultimate Hipster Guide to Toronto.
